National Holiday declared!

Last night, Friday 12th October (today) was declared a National Holiday in Ethiopia in celebration for the end of Ramadan. The skyline of Addis was alight with fireworks, mainly from the celebrations underway at the Sheraton Hotel which was built by Sheik Al-Amoudi. In Ethiopia, approximately half of the population is Christian and the remainder Muslim - but there is relatively little tension between the two. So much so, the entire population celebrates religious holidays regardless of their own faith. In Addis everything grinds to a halt!

However, we continued our visits with a trip to the Black Lion Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in Ethiopia, where patients are treated by the hard working staff regardless of what day it is. We visited the site for the new hospital kitchen which is being constructed using funds from Ethiopiaid. The existing kitchen is currently covered in thick black mould as the ventilation system no longer works, posing a major hygiene risk.

The construction is being project managed by two building experts from the Netherlands who Ethiopiaid have worked with on other projects, including the new Hope University. They have very kindly agreed to undertake this project free of charge and have asked only that we make a contribution to a charity in Addis which provides food and shelter for the homeless – a very worthy cause indeed.